Gullfoss
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Gullfoss is a waterfall located on the White River (Hvítá) in south central Iceland. Its name means the Golden Falls. The flow of the river from the regular rains and the glacial runoff, particularly in summer, makes Gullfoss the largest volume falls in Europe.
The Gullfoss is often described as one of the most spectacular sights or natural wonders of the world. The wide White River (Hvítá) rushes southward. About a kilometer above the falls it turns sharply to the left and flows down a wide curved three step "staircase" and then abruptly plunges in two stages (11 m and 21 m) into a crevice 32 m (105 ft) deep. The crevice, about 20 m (60 ft) wide, and 2.5 km in length, is at right angles to the flow of the river. The average of water running down this waterfall is by 100 – 180 m³/s in the summertime and 50 – 110 m³/s in the wintertime. The highest flood measured was 2000 m³/s.
As one first approaches the falls, the crevice is obscured from view, so that it appears that a mighty river simply vanishes into the earth.
During the first half of the 20th century and some years into the late 20th century, there was much speculation about utilizing Gullfoss to create electricity. During this period, the waterfall was rented indirectly by its owners, Tómas Tómasson and Halldór Halldórsson, to foreign investors; however, the investors' attempts were unsuccessful, partly due to lack of money. The waterfall was later sold to the state of Iceland. Even after it was sold, there were plans to utilize Hvítá, which would have changed the waterfall forever. This was not done, and later the waterfall was conserved.
Sigríður Tómasdóttir, the daughter of Tómas Tómasson was determined to save the waterfall from utilization and even threatened to throw herself into the waterfall. A very popular story is that Sigríður did save the waterfall from utilization, however, this is not true.
A stone memorial to Sigriður, located above the falls, depicts her profile.
The place is together with Þingvellir and the geysirs of Haukadalur part of the most famous sights of Iceland, the Golden Circle.
[edit] See also
- Geography of Iceland
- Iceland plume
- Lakes of Iceland
- List of islands off Iceland
- List of volcanoes in Iceland
- Rivers of Iceland
- Volcanoes of Iceland
- Waterfalls of Iceland
- List of waterfalls
[edit] External links
